Tuesday, July 31, 2012

I've seen a lot of cleaning tips that combine many products together to clean hard water or the grime along the edge of the faucet. The truth is, all you really need is vinegar.

Vinegar is a real wonder cleaner.

I was pretty amazed when it worked!

The real power of vinegar, however, is as a spray cleaner. Mix equal parts vinegar and water and go to town.

Of course, if you do that, someone will walk in to your home and wonder who spilled vinegar all over.

This is why there are so many recipes to make your vinegar cleaner scented. Typically, this process takes about two weeks.

I have all sorts of yummy herbs growing in my garden and my neighbor's garden. For the first round, I opted to use rosemary and lemon balm. Lemon balm smells AMAZING, btw.

I placed them in a jar with the vinegar.

Shake the jar every few days and when it's done strain it into a spray bottle and add an equal amount of water.

That's it! Ready to use.

I made another batch recently where I used all my old citrus peals. . . and it will be a lovely lemon scented cleaner.

And it cleans so much! It's crazy.

For example, you can soak a paper towel in it, the wrap the towel around the base of your sink faucet (you know, the area where you usually have to use a toothbrush or small scrubbie to reach). Leave it for an hour. When you come back, just use the paper towel to wipe up the area and all that grime stuff is gone!

I decided to see if it would make the burner rings on my gas stove sparkly again.

When it came to the homemade dishwasher soap...It was a mixed bag. Yes, it works...but so does the $1 a box stuff from the dollar store. And it does about the same number of loads. Oh, and if you can't get bulk citric acid and have to rely on the lemon Kool Aid...it costs the same as just running to the dollar store.

Now, lets get to the meat and potatoes of cleaning...or rather the vinegar and baking soda.

If you plan to make any of your own cleaning products, start with these basics. In fact, just go to Costco or Sam's and skip the grocery store sized containers. I always wondered who bought vinegar and baking soda in such large quantities...now I know...

People who make their own cleaners.

The big question is...does it work? Will Vinegar and baking soda really clean just about anything?

Yes. Yes and YES.

In order to give this a proper test, I had to let my stove get dirty. It wasn't hard. I took one for the team and...didn't clean my stove for several days.

You're welcome.

Gross, right?

The first step to cleaning the cooked on greasy grime is to sprinkle it with baking soda. Next, wet a cloth and rub the baking soda into the grime. Then, wipe up the baking soda.

That's it.

In about a minute, my stove looked like this:

And...it doesn't just work on stoves. You know how pans get grease residue that builds up? It takes that off, too!

The other night, I broiled some meat and then The Boy sent my stainless steal pan through the dishwasher without getting out the burnt on broiler goo...

And if you're stopping by from one of the link parties that featured this blog post, and have an awesome project if your own to share, please do so at the link party I Co-Host every Thursday! Pin Inspiration Thursday!

Friday, July 27, 2012

I'm always excited to share great deals with friends and this week, I'd like all my local readers to stop by River Region Family. This is a great blog dedicated to the awesome deals and activities for families in Alabama's River Region.

And if you aren't in the River Region, I bet you can find a blog just like River Region Family for your area. You will be amazed by all the fun frugal or free activities that happen every week.

Now, on to the savings!

This week was the stock up on protein that always makes my savings look lower. So many coupon bloggers show amazing savings, but rarely show the big trips where the savings aren't always eye popping. I'm keeping it real this week in showing how I spent $55 and got enough protein for two weeks worth of meals and the rest of my groceries for a week.

And as I wallow in my "I'm not a good enough couponer" misery, I have to remember that feeding a family of 8 for $55 for a week is NOTHING to be ashamed over. My weekly budget is actually $100 and I'm usually well under that.

Here's the breakdown this week...keep in mind, I hit the markdown meats at Winn Dixire and shopped Publix. I took one big picture because it's been one of those weeks :P

I think that's everything! I also was able to use a $5/30 WD coupon and a $5/25 Save A lot coupon since I went to two stores this week :)

I also had to get food for our special family members...

Penny and Sheldon joined our family almost 3 weeks ago. We adopted them our local shelter. They are shepherd mix puppies and we're going through a small bag of puppy food every 3 days. I haven't found puppy food in a 50 lb bag yet ;)

And our wonderful Josie. We lost our furry friend Steve in a tragic "look both ways before crossing the street" incident in June. Josie was finally happy again (she didn't like Steve) and then we brought the dogs home. And then the kids stuck her in a dress. Josie has always been a really good sport and we just love her to pieces.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

OK, I can dream...dream about cooler weather, pretty lights, decorations, the smell of pine trees and baking...oh yes.

Baking. I miss baking!

The weather has "cooled" down a bit to the mid 90s.

My crockpot is getting a workout because it's too hot to turn on the oven!

But I can still dream about Christmas! And you can start pinning away all these fantastic projects!

Christmas morning in our house starts with cinnamon rolls. While the kids sit in the living room and rip through the presents, cinnamon rolls are heating up in the oven, making the house smell absolutely amazing. Once the presents are opened, we go right to warm and gooey breakfast without a lot of fuss.

Over the years I've tried several recipes, but this one I created last year was hands down the best. It was so good, it took a blue ribbon at the fair!

Cream
together the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and butter on medium-high speed
until smooth. Mix in the egg. Mix in the flour, yeast and milk until
a dough forms. Knead about 8 minutes until the dough is silky.
Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning
once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature
for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, make
the filling. To make the caramelized apples, melt the butter in a
skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apple slices, sugar,
cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until the apples are evenly
coated. Cook about 18 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the
heat and stir in the vanilla. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl,
whisk together the sugar and cinnamon to blend; set aside.

On
floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle(about 12 x 14 inches for
larger rolls or 9 x 18 inches for smaller rolls). Combine the sugar
and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix to blend. Sprinkle the cinnamon
sugar mixture over the surface of the dough. Evenly distribute the
caramelized apples over the top of the dough. Starting with the wide
edge, roll up the dough. Pinch the seam shut, and with the seam side
down, slice the log into your desired number of rolls. Transfer them
to a prepared baking placing the rolls about ½-1 inch apart.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

To
make the glaze, combine the cream cheese and butter in a small
heatproof bowl and microwave in 15-20 second intervals until it is warm
enough to whisk together. Whisk in the caramel sauce, milk and vanilla
extract until smooth. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
Swirl the glaze over the top of the cinnamon rolls. Let cool at
least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Friday, July 20, 2012

I almost didn't go shopping this week. There wasn't a whole lot in the ad that interested me, but I decided to go through the printed coupons and see if there were any good deals at the store.

I'm really glad I went. I got some fantastic deals by combining store and manufacturer coupons. It was great to get kids' yogurt for 62 cents each!

The other great part of the trip was sampling meal. Publix always has terrific recipes and my kids love hitting the store around dinner time just for the samples. This time, the side dish of creamy polenta was delicious and I just needed the goat cheese to make it!

Polenta is a creamy yellow cornmeal dish. In the south, we call it grits. My kids won't eat grits. They will eat polenta LOL I've included the recipe at the bottom of this post.

My total savings was $65 and my total before taxes was $39.

I'm continuing my stock up of school lunch items and snacks for the summer. I added a few special treats for myself including some chocolate cream cheese and whole fruit bars. Piled in the middle are 10 bags of chex mix. I had a .50/2 coupon and paired it with a $1/1 store coupon. It made the bags about $1 each.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Have you ever visited a city and instantly fell in love? That's what is was like for me and New Orleans.

I am a huge history nut and absolutely love that I live in a city that is historically significant. But New Orleans...there's just something magical about it. Maybe it's the merging of so many cultures together? The architecture? The food?

All I know is I really want to go back...without the kids!

The kids had a great time with all the street performers and eating beignets.

mmmmm Cafe du Monde

Across from Cafe du Monde is St. Louis Cathedral. My girls thought it was Cinderella's castle. LOL Once inside, they weren't disappointed Cinderella wasn't there.

The art was amazing. We're not Catholic, so the children and I were fascinated by the ornate details. Our churches are very boring. Very little art and uncomfortable cushioned seats. And our organs aren't nearly as fancy.

The children were spent, so we didn't have any time to see the cemeteries. That's definitely on the list for next time. And a haunted city tour.

Have you visited New Orleans? What were your favorite things to see or do?

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Better late than never seems to be a theme for birthdays at our house. The kids always get around to having cake with the family...eventually.

And, to be honest, this year I did a whole lot better than I did last year for Little B's birthday: celebrating his June birthday in September!

This year, we put off his party and the kids headed to Flint Creek Watertown in Mississippi. Fun with cousins. Sunburns...no complaints from Little B!

And then a day in New Orleans...Munching on beignets at Cafe du Monde and seeing the city. Turns out Little B loves music and recently started playing the trumpet. So this was pretty awesome for him, all around.

Once we were home, it was finally time to have cake. For a special treat, I made an Earthquake Cake. It gets it's name because it looks like there are fissures all through the cake. I've had this recipe for years and pull it out on special occasions...like my youngest son turning 11.

The traditional recipe for this calls for German Chocolate. I changed it up this year and used Red Velvet. mmmmm